Fire Pit Safety for Children

Having a fire pit at your home or at a campground is a great way to relax and enjoy the great outdoors once the sun sets and it can be a great social activity for the entire family. But because this is such a popular family activity parents must take extra care when their children are around fire pits. And of course once they are old enough to understand, there are several important points you need to make about fire pit safety.

Make sure your children understand basic fire safety.

Before teaching your children about fire pit safety you need to first make sure they understand the basics of fire and fire safety in general. Teach them to stop, drop, and roll if their clothing ever catches fire, physically demonstrate this technique and let them do it on their own as well. Instruct them to never use gasoline or oil as a fire starter, and show how to properly use a fire extinguisher in case a campfire does get out of hand. But of course most importantly, teach them never to play with matches or lighters.

Surround your fire pit with large rocks and stones, and always have a fire extinguisher nearby.

This is especially true with larger fires in wooded, dry areas as you never know when a spark or stray flame may set fire to the surrounding area. To minimize this risk even further, you should teach your children to clear away any brush and other flammable debris from the area with a rake and before starting a fire. Teach them to keep a lookout for tree branches hanging overhead also, as taller fires have been known to set fire to these low branches.

Pay attention to the type of branches, logs, or wood you are burning.

Make sure your children know what poison oak and poison ivy looks like, as burning this in a fire can release irritants into the air which can be just as harmful as touching the plant with bare skin. This is especially true if you are roasting marshmallows or cooking over the fire. Finally, make sure they understand the difference between dead wood and wood that is still living; and teach them to only collect wood that has already fallen onto the ground as opposed to chopping down fresh trees.

This guest post is provided by Geoffrey F. Moore of My Fire Pits.  My Fire Pits has a large selection of fire pits, fire pit accessories, and gas burning fire pits.

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